Coverage of the San Francisco 49ers

49ers Bring the Noise to Seattle Sunday

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SEATTLE - DECEMBER 6: The San Francisco 49ers defense lines up against the Seattle Seahawks offense during their NFL game on December 6, 2009 at Qwest Field in Seattle, Washington. The Seahawks defeated the 49ers 20-17. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr./Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***

It's no myth that visiting teams encounter problems with the overhwelming crowd noise in Seattle. Eric Branch points out in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat that "opponents have drawn a league-high 95 false-start penalties at the eight-year-old stadium, an average of 2.4 a game."

But do not be fooled into thinking that Seahawks fans are genetically louder or more passionate football hooligans than you are. After all, Qwest Field has 2,000 fewer seats than Candlestick.

It's all in the stadium design. John Clayton first noted in a 2006 ESPN article, the bleachers and the partial roofs are specifically designed to amplify more sound onto the field.

Can the 49ers possibly counter the Seahawks' noise assault with any of their own disruption or confusion?

Well, they did just change backup running back Anthony Dixon's jersey number to 24 from 33. That might confuse Seattle to some degree.

For 49ers Faithful, this will be the first time all year that the Niners' big three on offense will play together at once. Frank Gore, Vernon Davis, and Michael Crabtree are all fully healthy and scheduled to play.

A quick start from one or all of those three would quiet down that artificially-enhanced crowd noise in a hurry.